Just over a week ago, on 14 November 2013, the French newspaper
Libération was published without images. The reason given was to show the importance of photography. The front page stated:
“Libération vows an eternal gratitude to photography, whether produced by photojournalists, fashion photographers, portraitists, or conceptual artists. Our passion for photography has never been questioned – not because it’s used to beautify, shock or illustrate, but because photography takes the pulse of our world. To choose Paris Photo’s opening day to “install’ these white images highlights our commitment to photography. It’s not a wake, we’re not burying the photographic art [...] Instead we give photography the homage it deserves. Yet, no one can ignore the calamitous situation press photographers now find themselves in, especially war photographers who risk their lives while barely making a living. And for those whose work went on show today in the Grand Palais thanks to shrewd gallery owners, we might think that the odds are in their favour, but it’s all smoke and mirrors: the art photography market is currently confused.”
The issue was published with framed white squares where the images would have been. At the back of the issue, the flat plan was shown for each page, this time only the images were shown and not the text.
This strategy raises many questions. The responses on the BJP page concentrate on the death of photography and a debate on professionals vis à vis the equipment they use.
In our image saturated world it is hard to remember a time without photographs. The world of smartphones and tablets, of Twitter and Facebook, of Pinterest and Instagram means we are constantly visually connected to the world. However as a photographer this is not what I am interested in. There is so much going on with this particular issue of the newspaper and its relationship with photography that this post could take many different paths.
The path I wish to focus on is the empty squares. These boxes filled with the white of the paper, framed by a thin black line where we have nothing to validate the text. We use photographs consistently to back up anything that we read. The cry across social media with every image posted – ‘Look here’s the photograph’ – as it provides proof of what is being said. The post modernists could have a field day with this issue of Libération, with the margins and the edge of the frame providing ample slippage for meaning as it tumbles through the empty boxes.
On November 14, Libération took the bold step of making you read the paper. No more quick flicking through, glancing at photographs, skim reading the captions until a story caught your eye enough to read the whole article. In this issue, you either resorted to the scissors and cut out the images from the flat plans at the back and made your own version, or you had to read the text. For the lack of photographs, says more about our engagement or rather lack of engagement with words, than our consumption of photographs.